Liquid-dischabae device



l. FEHAN.

LIQUID DISCHARGE DEVICE.

APPucmon man APR. |920.

Patend Feb. 8, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN FEHAN, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

LIQUID-DISCHARGE DEVICE.

Application led April 8,

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN FEHAN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Buffalo, in the county of lrie and State of New York, have inventedtertain new and useful Improvements in Liquid-Discharge Devices; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, su.h as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to liquid discharge devices and more particularlyto those intended for withdrawing fuel from fuel tanks of automobiles,motor boats and other ve hicles, leaving a reserve supply for use inreaching a filling station, after the major contents of the tank havebeen consumed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a rather simple andinexpensive device of the class described which may be adjusted from theexterior of the tank to leave different quantities of fuel in reserve;which may be quickly set for withdrawing the reserve supply; which maybe used to prevent the discharge of any fuel; and which will at alltimes draw the fuel from the bottom of the tank so that the reservesupply will not consist merely of low grade fuel, but will be equal ingravity to that before consumed.

Another object is to provide a novel arrangement of parts for holdingthe fuel discharge tube in adjusted position, for holding the cut-offvalve tightly closed, and for compensating for any wear of this valveand its seat.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novelconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed,the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a vertical section of the device installed on a fuel tank.

Figs.' 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views on the planes indicated bylines 2 2 and 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section showing a modified form ofconstruction.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have illustrated the preferred form of my deviceand Fig. 4 is devoted to a slight modification which may be used ifdesired. In the preferred form shown, the numeral 1 designates avertically disposed guide adapted for mounting Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 372,333.

on a fuel tank such as that indicated at 2, said guide having adepending tubular portion 5 and a liquid outlet 4 above Said tubularportion. A liquid discharge tube 5 is slidable vertically in the guide land discharges into said guide, and by means of a stem (i or any otherpreferred operating means, said tube may be vertically adjusted from theexterior of the tank to position its lower end at any one of a number oflevels, and thus any desired quantity of fuel may be left in the bottomof the' tank as a reserve supply.

In addition to the features above briefly mentioned, I prefer to providemeans operable by predetermined movement of the tube 5, for cutting ofi'the discharge of liquid through said tube. A preferred form of thiscut-off means, together with the most desirable details for the otherfeatures of construction, are shown in the drawings, but it is to beunderstood that numerous modifications may be made.

The guide 1 as shown, consists of an upper section 7 and the tube 3which depends from said section. The section 7 is by preference ofcylindrical form and is threaded at 8 through a collar 9 secured on thefuel tank 2. The upper end of the section 7 is provided with a head 10and a sleeve 11 is clamped between said collar and head, such sleevecarrying the outlet 4 which is shown in the form of a pipe or tube.Suitable gaskets 12 are interposed between the sleeve'll and the parts 9and 10 to establish a. uid tight connection and it will be seen that byloosening the contact ofthe head 10 with the upper gasket, the sleeve 11may be swung around to position the tube 4 at the mostfdesirable an le.Turning the section 7 to rethread it into the collar 9, will againfrictionally bind the sleeve in place.

The se( tion 7 of the guide 1 is provided with an externalcircumferential channel 13 with which the outlet 4 communicates, andinto which the upper end of a. bore 14 discharges by way of one or moreopenings 15. The bore 14 extends from the bottom of the section 7 to apoint adjacent the Channel 13, and the lower end o-f said boreispreferably flared to form a conical valve seat 16. Above the bore 14and in vertical alixtement therewith, the section 7 is provided with anappropriate stuffing box 17, and it is through this stuing box that thestem 6 passes slidably for the purpose of adjusting the liquid bottom ofthe tank.

discharge tube 5. The stein 6 is spaced from the wall of the bore 11i inorder to permit the passage of fuel between the two and I have shown thelower end of said stern provided with a cone-valve'18 for co-action withthe seat 16 to cut off the dis liarge of liquid whenever desired. Belowthe valve 18, the stein 6 is provided with a piston 19 slidable withinthe tube 3 and having suitable piston rings 2O contacting with saidtube. 'The piston 19 is provided with a vertical bore 21 whichdischarges through openings 22 into the tube 8 at a point above thevpiston, and the upper end of the tube 5 is secured in said bore 21. v

For the purpose of holding the stem 6 and consequently the tube 5 inadjusted position, any means may be employed, but l prefer to use avertical post 23 rising'froin the head 10, and a spring-pressed detent24 cari'ied by the afoi'esaid steinv to cooperate with recesses 25formed in said post. T his detent also co-acts with an oblique camsurface 26 at the upper end of the post 28 when the stem 6 is raised toclose the valve 18, and the action of the detent on this cam surface,serves to hold the valve tightly closed. The surface 26 is ofconsiderable length so that it may actively cooperate with the detent24, even though the valve and valve seat maj)7 be worn to such an extentas 'to permit upward movement of thestem 6 to a greater extent than whenthe device was rst used. The recesses 25 are positioned whereverrequired and by setting the `stem 6 so that the detent V24 engages'withthese recesses, the lower end of the tube 5 may be adjusted lto numerouslevels so that different quantities of fuel will be held in reservewithin the tank 2. After the major supply of fuel has been exhausted,the Vstein 6 may be forced downwardly to the maximum, thus positioningthe lower'end of tube 5 at the bottom of the tank', so that theremainder of the fuel may be withdrawn. ,y

Attention is directed to the fact that vthe `tube 3 preferably extendsto a point in close i proximity with the bottom of the fuel tank.

By this arrangement, regardless of the location of the lower end of thetube 5, all fuel will be drawn from the bottom of the tank as indicatedby the arrows in Fig. 1. 1t is thus insured that a poor grade of fuelshall Anot be heldin reserve, as invariably happens when the fuel is nottaken off from the rl`he tube in question is preferably provided withair inlet openings v27 which permit air to enter said tube and vthusallow the fuel level to fall within the'latter as it recedes in the tank2. These openings are preferably located however so that they are closedby this piston 19 when the tube 5 is lowered to the maximum for`exhausting the reserve supply.

The lower end of the tube 5 is provided moved when adjustments are to bemade.

with a closure 5a and the side of said tube is formed with an inletopening 5b directly above this closure. rChis arrangement is preferableover an open-ended tube, in View of the fact that when the liquid levelreaches the lower end of suh a tube, the suction within the same has atendency to continually draw the liquid upwardly after the level hasreached the lower end of the tube, thereby lowering said level to anundesirable extent. that by using closure such as 5 and providing aliquid inlet 5h in the side of the tube, this difficulty is overcomesince the ,Dart with one end bearing against the detent and its otherend thrusting against the plug y30. A

1n Fig. el of the drawings, I have shown a modified manner ofconstructing the upper section 7 of the guide 1. In this view, no

lt has been found however,

so i

sleeve such as 11 surrounds the section 7,

but the latter is provided with an internal annular groove 18 into whichthe upper end of the bore 14: discharges. A suitable opening Il leadsfrom the channel 13" for connecting with the liquid outlet pipe. Thisconstruction is more simple and may in some instances be more desirablethanthat above described. Y

By using the several features `of construction shown and described, orequivalentk structures, a very desirable device will result, and suchdevice is usable to great advantage for holding in reserve a quantity offuel to be used in reaching a servicesta tiouor tlie like after the-main supply of fuel in the tank has been exhausted.l By adjusting theoutletrtube 5,'diiferent quantities of fuel may be held iii reserve andupon further adjustment of such tube, the reserve supply may bewithdrawn. Also, by raising the tube to the maximum, thev valve 18 maybe closed to prevent the discharge of any fuel whatever. I prefer toprovide a suitable. cap or casing C for the adjusting and holding meansof the 'stern 6, but such cap or casing may be easily re- From theforegoing, taken Vin connection with thecaccompanying drawings, it willbe seen that although my invention is of coml. paratively simple `andinexpensive'nature,

it will be highly eiiicient and in every way desirable. Since probablythe best results may be obtained from the details disclosed, suchdetails may be followed if desired, but I wish it understood that withinthe scope of the invention as claimed, considerable latitude is allowedfor making such changes as occasion may dictate.

I claim:

1. The combination with a liquid tank, of a guide mounted on the top ofsaid tank and having a liquid outlet, a liquid discharge tube slidablein said guide and discharging into the latter, and means rising fromsaid tube through said guide for vertically adjusting the former fromthe exterior of the tank.

2. The combination with a liquid tank, of a guide mounted on the top ofsaid tank, a liquid discharge tube slidable in said guide andprojectable to di'erent levels in said tank, and co-acting means on thetube and guide for preventing discharge of liquid through said tube whenit is moved to a predetermined position.

3. The combination with a fuel supply tank of an engine, of a fueldischarge tube projectable to different levels in said tank, a guide forsaid tube, a valve and valve seat carried by said tube and guide andcoperable to prevent discharge of liquid through the former, and meansrising from said tube through said guide for adjusting said tube fromthe exterior of the tank.

4. A liquid discharge device for tanks, comprising a guide adapted to bemounted onthe tank, said guide having a liquid outlet, a liquiddischarge tube slidable in said guide and discharging into the latter,and means rising from the tube through said guide for adjusting saidtube from the exterior of the tank.

5. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted to bemounted on a tank, said guide having a liquid outlet and a stuffing box,a liquid discharge tube slidable in said guide and discharging into thesame, and a stem rising from the tube through said stuffing box foradjusting said tube from the exterior of the tank.

6. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted to bemounted on a tank, said guide having a liquid outlet, a liquid dischargetube slidable in said guide and discharging into the same. a stem risingfrom said tube for adjusting the latter from the exterior of the tank, apost rising from said guide, and coacting means on said post and stemfor holding the latter in adjusted position.

7. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted to bemounted on a tank, said guide having a liquid outlet, a liquid dischargetube slidable in said guide and discharging into the same, a stem risingfrom said tube for adjusting the latter from the exterior of the tank, apost rising from said guide and having vertically spaced recesses, and aspring-pressed detent carried by said stem for co-action with saidrecesses to hold the stem in adjusted position.

8. A liquid discharge device for tanks, comprising a uide adapted formounting on the tank, sait? guide having a li uid outlet and a dependingtubular portion low said outlet, and a liquid discharge tube having a.piston slidable in said tubular portion of said guide, said tube havinga liquid outlet opening into said tubular portion above said piston.

9. A liquid discharge device for tanks, comprising a guide adapted formounting on the tank, said guide having a. liquid outlet and a dependintubular portion below said outlet, a liqui discharge tube having apiston slidable in said tubular portion or said guide, said tube havinga liquid outlet opening into said tubular portion above said piston, andmeans rising from said piston through said guide for adjusting saidpiston and said tube from the exterior of the tank.

10. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted formounting on a tank, said guide having a liquid outlet and a dependingtubular portion below said outlet, a stem passing slidably through theupper end of said guide and having an enlarged lower end forming apiston slidable in said tubular guide portion, said piston having a boreand an opening therefrom into said tubular guide portion, and a li uiddischarge tube secured at its upper en in said bore.

11. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide and means formounting it on the top of a tank, said guide having) a liquid outlet, aliquid discharge tube slida le in said guide and dischar ing into thesame, means rising from said tu e to a point above said guide forvertically adjusting said tube, and means operable by predeterminedmovement of said tube for preventing discharge of liquid from said tubeinto said guide.

12. A liquid dischar e device for tanks comprising a guide an means formounting it on the top of a tank, said ide having a liquid outlet, aliquid disc arge tube slidable in said guide and discharging into thesame, means rising from said tube to a point above said guide forvertically adjusting said tube, and a valve and valve seat carried bysaid tube and guide for co-action in preventing discharge of liquid fromsaid tube into said guide when said tube is adjusted to a predeterminedpoint.

13. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted to bemounted on the tank. said guide having a. liquid outlet and a dependingtubular portion below said outlet, said guide also having an internalvalve seat, a liquid discharge tube hav-V piston for co-action with saidvalve-seat to prevent discharge of liquid.

111. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted formounting on a tank, said guide having a liquid outlet and a dependingtubular portion below said outlet, a stem passing slidably through theupper end of said guide and having an enlarged lower end forming apiston slidable in said tubular guide portion, said piston having a boreand an opening therefrom into said tubular guide portion, a liquiddischarge tube secured at its upper end in said bore, a valve carried bysaid stem, and a valve-seat within said guide, said valve and seat beingcoperable in preventing discharge of liquid. Y

15. A liquid discharge device for tanks comprising a guide adapted formounting on the tank, said guide having a liquid outlet, a steml passingslidably into the upper end i said guide, a liquid discharge tubecarried by said stem and slidable in said guide, valve means operable bymaximum raising of said stem to prevent the discharge of liquid, a postrising from said guide and having an oblique cam surface, and aspringthe valve, whereby to holdsaid valve tightly y closed andtocompensate for wear;

16. A liquid dispensing device comprising a suc-tion tube insertible' todilerent levels in a tank, the lower end of said tube having a closureand a liquid inlet immediately above such closure, whereby to preventcontinued suction of liquid into the ltube when tha) levelvlias reachedthe lower end of the tu e. A

17. A liquid discharge device comprising a tubular guide adapted toextend from a point near the bottom oi' a tank through the top of suchtank, said guide having a liquid outlet at its upper end and an airinlet between its ends for 'disposition within the tank, a liquiddischarge tube lwithin said tubular guide having on its upper end apiston contacting with said guide, said liquid discharge tube having aliquid outlet into said guide above said piston, and means rising fromsaid tube to av point above said guide for raising and lowering saidtube and its piston, said piston serving to close said air inlet when inits lowermost position, i

In testimony whereof- I have hereunto set my hand. Y

JOHN unitari. i

